ERRATA – GURPS Basic Set (First Edition) – Updated April 27, 1999

All these errors were corrected in the Second Edition. Any mistakes not found by this date were probably (#$%#@) repeated in the new edition – check for Second Edition errata. Note that this listing does not attempt to cover all the new material added in the Second Edition.

P. 8. The reference to IQ 18 (8 more than adult average) should be IQ 17 (7 more than adult average).

P. 8. An elf has -1 ST; being an elf costs 40 character points.

P. 12. Under "Reputation – People Affected," a line was omitted: "Everyone has heard of you: use listed value."

P. 39, and Charts & Tables. The Staff skill is Physical/Hard. Staff work requires two hands. Your Parry with a staff is (2/3) your Staff skill.

P. 41. Language rule change: When two people try to communicate in a language, and one or both speak it badly, the GM may want to roll to see if a particular important idea comes across. Roll against the poorer language skill plus (1/5) of the better speaker's skill (round down). For hurried speech, bad phone connections, complex directions, etc., roll with a -2 to -8 penalty!

P. 44. The Climbing skill should refer to p. 43.

P. 45. The wrong formula for swimming speed is given under the Swimming
skill description. Use the simpler formula in the sidebar on p. 81.

P. 62. Delete the "Move 5 yards per second" line from section (1). It means nothing in this context, and we have no idea how it got there.

P. 64. The second sentence under (a) should read: "Note that Dai's knife has both "cutting" and "impaling" damage – it does (1d-5) basic damage when it cuts, and (1d-4) when it impales."

P. 66. Clarification: When you have unspent character points, ignore them for purposes of evaluating your character. Suppose your character began at 100 points, earned 30 points, and hasn't spent any yet. He's still a 100-point character. Now, suppose he spends all 30 of his points on improving his attributes. This buys only 15 points' worth of improvements (because attributes count double if bought later). So he's now a 115-point character, and should be shown that way on his Character Sheet. If he spent the 30 points on skills, he'd now be a 130-point character.

P. 68. When you improve a skill, the cost is the difference between the cost of your current skill level and the cost of the new skill level.

P. 68. Adding and improving skills: If you used any sort of magic, the GM may allow you to put points into other spells; likewise with ESP abilities.

P. 68. Aging: Starting at age 70, roll every 6 months. At age 90, roll every 3 months!

P. 74. In the Index, Chapter 14 starts on p. 110, not p. 10.

P. 76. Sign language is a skill for which there is no default roll. The text should have listed communication by gesture as a skill that can be used by default.

P. 76. Lockpicking defaults to IQ-5, not IQ-10.

P. 76. A critical success is an especially good result on a skill roll.
You score a critical success as follows:

A roll of 3 or 4 is always a critical success. A roll of 5 is a critical success if your effective skill is 15+. A roll of 6 is a critical success if your effective skill is 16+.

A critical failure is an especially bad result on a skill roll. You score a critical failure as follows:

A roll of 18 is always a critical failure. A roll of 17 is an ordinary failure if your effective skill is 16 or better, and a critical failure if your effective skill is under 16. Any roll of 10 greater than your effective skill is a critical failure. (That is, 16 on a skill of 6, 15 on a skill of 5, and so on.)

P. 79 (sidebar, next-to-last paragraph). Lose one HT only on a critical failure.

P. 82. Add to Flails sidebar: Even a shield is less useful against a flail; blocks are at -2.

P. 82. Add to Ready: Note that, even if you are ambidextrous, you cannot ready one weapon on the same turn you attack with another.

Pp. 83 and 90. Add to Aim maneuver: If you are injured, you must make your IQ roll (Strong Will helps) or lose your aim.

Pp. 83 and 91. The defender may use his Shield skill in the Contest of Skills that determines the success of a feint.

P. 84. In Paragraph 8 of the sidebar, Louis' ST is 11.

Pp. 85 and 94. Add to Dodge: An animal's Dodge score is half its move or half its DX, whichever is better - up to a maximum of 10.

Modify the Parry rule: Thrown weapons may be parried, but at a -1. Very small weapons – knives, shuriken, etc. – are parried at –2.

P. 87. A Brawling parry is (2/3) of your Brawling skill, not (1/2).

P. 87. When you try to parry a weapon with your bare hand, and miss, the attacker can choose whether to hit your arm or the place he aimed originally.

P. 88. Clarify: It only takes 1 turn to re-ready a polearm from any grip to any other grip.

P. 93. (Rule change!) You may attack during a Move maneuver; this is a Wild Swing (p. 91).

P. 94. Add the following to the Blocking rule: You may block only attacks made from your front hexes or your shield-side hex (left, unless you are left-handed). A block against a shield-side attack is at a -1. You may block thrown weapons coming from a side hex, but not missile weapons.

P. 95, and Parts of the Body table in pullout section. Although bullets are normally considered "crushing," they do triple damage, like impaling weapons, if they strike the head or vital organs.

P. 96. The diagram is right; ignore the sidebar text where it conflicts.

P. 99. Judo skill can also be used to attempt a takedown.

P. 100. The sidebar referred to in the third paragraph from the bottom is on that same page, not p. 101.

P. 100. In a slam, your foe is at -2 to DX if he's not standing. Add: The winner falls down, too, if he failed to roll his (adjusted) ST or less!

P. 100. The fighter who initiates a slam cannot be knocked back more than 2 hexes.

P. 102. If you don't have Throwing skill, you throw things at DX-3. Unless indicated otherwise, hand weapons do the same damage when thrown that they do normally.

P. 103. The "composite bow" and "crossbow" lines in the table don't agree with those in the main weapon table. The main weapon table is right.

If you are aiming, you lose your aim if you change position, move to another hex, or use the hand(s) holding the weapon. You may talk, cast spells not requiring the use of that hand, etc., without losing your aim.

A knife has no point-blank range.

P. 106. Add to end of first sentence: "or half the distance to the target, whichever is less. Round up."

P. 125. Total point earnings: It is strongly suggested that no PC ever get more than 5 character points for any one play session. 2 or 3 should be the average.

P. 126. An engineer in a medieval world would learn Engineer/TL3.

P. 136. No normal animal can have a Dodge higher than 10.

P. 137. A black or brown bear has HT 14/14-20. A polar bear has health 15/18-24.

P. 139. A large wild boar is a 2-hex creature; a small one like a javelina is a 1-hex creature.

P. 140. An ox weighs 2,500+ lbs. Also, 4 oxen would have a combined ST of 320, not 160! (A pony – a small breed of horse – does cost more than a normal saddle horse. It's faster and more dexterous.)

Sample Characters

Since Robyn of the Meadows has ST 11, her basic Swing damage should be 1d+1, not 1+2. Her cutting damage with large knife should be 1d-1.

Dai Blackthorn does 1d-5 cutting damage, not 1d-3, with his small knife.

Katrina's Armoury skill should be 13; her Tactics skill should be 12.

Charts & Tables

Maneuvers: A Wild Swing is allowed on a Move maneuver.

Parts of the Body: Although bullets are normally considered "crushing," they do triple damage, like impaling weapons, if they strike the vital organs.